Google Maps is a great tool for local businesses, but can be a complete headache when it creates multiple or duplicate listings for your business.  This makes the job of obtaining a “Lucky 7-Pack” position very hard.  Your companies value-added information, reviews, photos and more can be split between multiple accounts making optimization very difficult.

Most of the time this is caused by Google’s algorithm pulling in the same or similar information from multiple reliable sources.  This can also occur when the local merchant does not realize he/she already has a Google Local Business Center Profile and creates another.  Any way it happens the outcome is never good.

The main problem in having numerous listings is the division of information, reviews, and possibly URLs, and even photos and videos.

Google states, when you find out that you have duplicate listings you should follow the following steps:

I personally have followed the above instructions numerous times successfully.

The Small Business Online Coach states that 30-40% of his clients have some sort of duplicate content.

PLEASE NOTE: The above method only works for unverified listings.  If you believe that your listing has been owner verified without your consent please go to the Google Maps Help Forum and start a thread asking one of the Google Maps Employees to possibly give you a helping hand.

I have encountered a few cases where one of my customer’s LBC listing had been verified by someone else, possibly a competitor or a spammer.  I reported the listing using the More > Report a Listing tab on the profile page then played the waiting game.